The old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed: try, try again”, might need rewriting. Because, according to new research, even if you do succeed, you should still try, try again. “Overlearning”, scientists say, could be the key to remembering what you have learned.

In a study of 183 volunteers, participants were asked to spot the orientation of a pattern in an image. It is a task that took eight 20-minute rounds of training to master. Some volunteers, however, were asked to carry on for a further 16 20-minute blocks to “overlearn” before being moved on to another task. When tested the next day, they had retained the ability better than those who had mastered it and then stopped learning.

Going barefoot

According to researchers at Bournemouth University, children who don’t wear shoes in the classroom not only learn, but behave better. Pupils feel more relaxed when they can kick their shoes off at the door says lead researcher Stephen Heppell, which means they are more engaged in lessons.

The study, which is based on observing and studying tens of thousands of children in more than 100 schools in about 25 countries over the past 10 years, also found that pupils who didn’t wear outdoor shoes (common in Scandinavian schools) also arrive earlier and leave later. A school in the East Midlands that is encouraging children to wear slippers to class says it has already seen an improvement in academic results.